"We are saying this is a low, but not the low, so we would be very selective about what stocks to buy for a tradable rally," said Ari Wald, technical strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management. "We do expect lower lows over the coming months."

Scott Redler, partner at T3Live.com, said: "I would not say this is the low of the year, but I would hope this is the low of January."